In a motor vehicle transmission, rotatable transmission input and output members are selectively coupled using interconnected gear elements and clutches in a range of transmission output speed ratios. Some of the clutches may be fluid-actuated plate clutches having a series of spaced friction plates. A hydraulic piston may be used to compress the friction plates together and thereby transfer torque across the engaged clutch, or to stop rotation of a side of the clutch and any interconnected gear elements or nodes. Plate clutches are typically controlled with a variable rate of slip such that the state of the plate clutch can range from fully-applied to fully-released, as well as anywhere in between these two states.
In some transmissions, a binary clutch assembly is used in lieu of a plate clutch to connect some gear elements or nodes of the transmission. A typical binary clutch assembly includes a freewheeling element and an on/off binary device such as a dog clutch or a selectable one-way clutch (SOWC). Unlike conventional friction plate clutches, a binary clutch assembly has just two possible clutch states: fully-applied and fully-released. When the binary device is released, the binary clutch assembly freewheels in one rotational direction while the freewheeling element prevents rotation in the other rotational direction. Application of the binary device effectively locks the binary clutch assembly in both rotational directions.